Al Gore offends massage therapists the world over—and us
Falls from grace are a familiar trope in American political life. Even still, I’m surprised that Boy Scout-y Al Gore, crusading environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, turned out to be a lecherous dog. But the bigger, and sadder surprise is that he forced himself on a massage therapist. Suddenly Bill Clinton’s consensual nooky with an intern doesn’t sound so bad.
Massage therapists have waged a long battle for respectability. They are highly trained professionals who must complete years of study, depending on the state, and hundreds of practical hours before getting licensed. They are experts in musculature, tissue, fascia, and joints. They can help arthritics stand up straight, athletes recover from injury, and the rest of us feel less stressed. If you ever need a reminder about the miracle of massage therapy, log onto the Touch Institute’s website and learn about the medical research going on around massage therapy.
So the allegations that almost-president Gore forced himself on 54-year-old massage therapist Molly Hagerty are especially troubling. Gore allegedly groped her, tried to kiss her, and demanded a “happy ending,” before getting angry that Hagerty wouldn’t comply. How ironic that the man America proclaimed the ultimate Sensitive New Age Guy is likely guilty of unwanted sexual advances—and of demeaning a nurturing profession that was finally getting respect on a national stage.
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Wow, that’s quite a rush to judgment! I think things might be a bit more nuanced than that. Even if things happened exactly as the massage therapist said, I feel she didn’t create the proper boundaries at critical moments, which is part of a therapist’s job. Here’s another perspective! http://spas.about.com/b/2010/06/30/al-gore-masssage-scandal.htm
We’re sad about the effect that Gore’s supposed behavior has had on the massage therapy profession. It has waged a long battle for respectability and was finally achieving it. So I’m surprised to read your comments, Anitra. You blame the therapist, which is pretty demeaning to the people who go into this healing work. Part of a therapist’s job is to learn how to create boundaries with clients and enforce them, yes, but I just don’t see how it’s the therapist’s fault when they’re crossed.
After much consideration, I’d like to weigh in on this topic as well. First off, I am always extremely apprehensive when there are charges of sexual misconduct related to the spa (and massage) industry; once the media (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csybfabFJlI) get hold even so much as a whiff of POTENTIAL scandal, they go charging after it like bloodhounds, regardless of the credibility or severity of the claims. The outcome always is that the spa industry emerges with a black eye regardless of who committed the wrongdoing…
In any event, all cries of foul should be thoroughly investigated, which typically in the arena of sexual misconduct where there are obvious and compelling reasons to investigate swiftly (and generally “indelicately” accordingly to the accused) means that the burden of proof seems to make a sometimes not-so-subtle shift from the alleged victim to the accused – which, under the laws of our Constitution, smacks loudly of hypocrisy, since as US citizens, we are accustomed and entitled to be considered innocent unless proven guilty.
As a former practicing criminal defense attorney, it was my responsibility to see to it that regardless of the charges, my clients were entitled to the full extent and exercise of their Constitutional rights. And I am satisfied to report that in most cases, where there’d been a THOROUGH AND TIMELY investigation of the related evidence, the majority of those accused were found guilty, even while they enjoyed the rights afforded them under the 5th Amendment. I always found it remarkable how sound justice could be when the Constitution was complied with as it was intended.
In the case at hand involving Al Gore and the massage therapist, both parties appear to have vastly opposing recollections of an incident occurring almost 4 years ago, with Gore standing accused of sexual misconduct. We’ll never really know what happened between Gore and the therapist, but one thing is for certain which is that, despite there being a TIMELY (how “thorough,” at this point it is unclear, ) investigation of the alleged incident’s occurrence in 2006, Gore has ended up with the “stain” of guilt (at least in the court of public opinion) upon him without having ever even stepped foot into a courtroom. At present, not one shred of evidence against him has been admitted in a court of law, meaning Al Gore’s entitlement to a presumption of innocence has been demolished by all of those eager to rush to judgment.
Thanks to the media and our society’s insatiable appetite for scandal, feelings of shock and outrage are fanned, sides are quickly taken, and accusations of dishonesty, lack of morals, and guilt take flight, blinding so many of us to a couple of very simple principles which are:
1. We are entitled to be presumed innocent unless PROVEN guilty by a court of law.
2. We should never look to blame a victim of sexual misconduct for having brought it on her/himself.
In my estimation, the only ones obviously GUILTY of anything here, are the media, for being guilty of “stirring the pot” via choosing to spew vitriolic and unsubstantiated information to the public in such careless fashion.
I’m not blaming the therapist for Gore’s alleged conduct — but I do think she didn’t protect herself by setting expectations when he allegedly dimmed the lights and talked about needing inner thigh work at the very beginning. Those are clear red flags! She needed to set expectations and end the session way before. She was in there for three hours!! And billed him $540 for it!
I just thought of another analogy — let’s see if it works. Say you’re a journalist who is interviewing a famous politician in his hotel room….he comes on to you (Khaddaffi was famous for this) You ignore what he’s doing and just keep asking questions as he escalates, dimming lights, offering you drinks, groping you, putting your hand on his penis…you stay in there for three hours (later, you say, because you were afraid of his security detail). You don’t write about the incident in your article right after it happens (as two black reporters did when Jesse Jackson talked about “Hymie-town”) but wait several years, then say you were sexually harassed, and sell the story to The National Enquirer. And you’ve saved some piece of incriminating clothing all those years to corroborate your story.
It doesn’t excuse the politician’s behavior…but it appears opportunistic on the part of journalist and not exactly conforming to the highest ethics of the profession. What would an ethical journalist do? Walk out and write about it!
I don’t know if we bloggers should be spreading this kind of character defamation before it’s proven. “Likely guilty” is a strong phrase. The timing of this news release is fishy. Slander a major figure in the environmental movement, just as it’s receiving mass validation? A familiar strategy for certain political parties…
After a four-week investigation, Multnomah County, Oregon District Attorney Michael Schrunk has dropped the sexual harassment case against former Vice President….
see link below –
http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/07/30/al-gore-sexual-harassment-case-dropped/